The Loneliest Thing
by PrincessJemimaValjean
Summary: When Cassie comes to terms with the mentally abusive reality of her and Lucy's "friendship", she tries to make a stand, but it sends her to the bottom of the food chain. There, she realizes that being a geek doesn't have to be the loneliest thing in the world. AU.


**Author's note: This beginning takes place while Evan is handing out invitations, Cassie's POV**

Intro

"Count me in!"

 _Wow, a Bar Mitzfah? In Appleton? This is definitely uncharted territory for us. And by us, I mean Lucy, Charlotte, Kendra, Molly, and myself._

 _Every party we go to is just the typical truth-or-dare spin-the-bottle that you'd expect in this school. Come to think of it, I haven't been to a party since Molly's birthday...last year. It's not that I don't get invited to things, it's just Lucy doesn't like me to go to parties unless she's invited._

 _I'm not complaining though, I have far too much to do anyway. With student council and extra credit and the drama club and cheer-leading and...well, I could go on forever! And on that note, it's clear I don't have much time for partying! So, I guess Lucy was really helping me when she didn't let me go to Richie's grandma's funeral!_

 _I should really thank her for all she's done for me this year. After all, she was the one who convinced everybody to vote for me for class president!...by threatening to destroy them socially if they didn't. Bummer...but I won! And no one got destroyed socially! That I know of._

 _I'm super glad that we all got invited to this! Maybe I can tell Lucy about the drama club's upcoming play at the party! She loves that kind of stuff! She was totally into our fall production of A Midsummer Night's Dream! Of course, she kind of took the reins from me...But I still got credited as the director! Well, assistant director...actually, just assistant...but even so, I was doing what I'm passionate about, and playing Hippolyta was a blast! (When I wasn't running to get Lucy non-fat peppermint lattes.)_

 _I originally wanted Titania, but Lucy said she saw me more as a Hippolyta! She had a great vision for the play, especially the cast! Kendra was an adorable Hermia, Richie played Puck hilariously, Malcolm was hysterical as Bottom, and she played a great Titania, too. Even though she messed up her lines on opening night...No. I don't want to be petty, that would make me a horrible friend, and Lucy is nothing but an amazing friend to me. So she missed my award ceremony last Friday, I'm sure she was really busy...with Kendra._

 _You know what Charlotte told me this morning? She said that the other day at cheer practice, Kendra said something about Lucy being fat. I'm not sure what she said, and you can't really trust Charlotte, but I wouldn't be surprised. What kind of a best friend says something like that?! And especially to Lucy, she's so insecure. I'd never say anything like that to her. So what if she constantly comments about my outfit, or my hair, or my thighs...it doesn't bother me! I know I'm beautiful just the way I am...just not as beautiful as Lucy. And I tell her that all the time! But she goes on saying how ugly and fat she is the next minute. Sometimes, I feel like she just does it for attention...but that can't be right. She gets plenty attention from the whole darn school! Especially me and the girls!...especially me..._

 _When she wants to borrow my favorite dress, I hand it over, no questions asked. When she wants me to give her the answers to the geometry homework, I don't even think to argue! And when she calls me at 1 AM, crying about her dad coming home drunk again and is hitting her mom, I stay up til dawn comforting her because Kendra wouldn't answer her calls! I treat her like my best friend...and she really treats me like a piece of garbage!...wow. I'm an idiot. A complete idiot! How did I not realize this before now?! It took some stupid Bar Mitzfah to make me realize how horrible of a friend SHE is!_

 _That's it. I'm going to talk to her right away about th-_

 _Wait a minute...did she just say we're not going? Just because Patrice Parker is invited? Okay, first of all, Patrice isn't half as bad as Lucy's pinned her. She's actually nice...She signed my petition to add vending machines to the 7th grade hallway! Second of all, why does Lucy think she's the queen of everything?! Well...probably because that's how we treat her. But not me anymore. From this point on, I'm going to treat her exactly how she treats me. And as for this party, I'm going, 100%. She can't control my life anymore!_ _Ha! Yes! This is great!_

 _WAIT!_

 _No it's not!_

 _If I defy her, I'll be the one getting destroyed socially! She'd get me kicked out of every club somehow, make me the butt of the school's jokes, and make sure no one would ever talk to me again! I'd become...Patrice! Ugh, why didn't I think of that before I got all empowered and such!? Is it really worth losing everything just to get her to stop stomping all over me? I've made it this far...things are fine the way they are, I guess. No party...again. I probably have far too much to do that night anyway._

"Count me out."


End file.
